Guilty Conscience

Guilty Conscience
feat. Dr. Dre
publication	June 8, 1999
length	3:19
Genre (s)	Hip hop
text	M. Mathers , A. Young
music	Dr. Dre
album	The Slim Shady LP

Guilty Conscience (English for: " Bad conscience ") is a song by the American rapper Eminem , which he wrote together with his discoverer and producer Dr. Dre recorded. The song is the fourth single from his second studio album The Slim Shady LP and was released on June 8, 1999. The song is also featured on Eminem's best-of album Curtain Call: The Hits .

content

Song part	Artist
Intro	Mark Avery
1st verse	Dr. Dre and Eminem
Interlude	Mark Avery
2nd stanza	Eminem and Dr. Dre
Interlude	Mark Avery
3rd stanza	Dr. Dre and Eminem

In Guilty Conscience , Dr. Dre and Eminem a duel as good and bad. Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady takes on the role of the devil and Dr. Dre the role of the angel in the decision-making of different people. The song contains three independent situations, each introduced by the narrator Mark Avery, before the two artists take turns rapping their arguments to influence the characters.

The first story is about Eddie, a 23-year-old frustrated man who decides to raid a beverage store when his guilty conscience comes into play: Dr. Dre raps that Eddie should think about the consequences of his actions, to which Slim Shady replies that he should implement his plan and then hide with his aunt or dress up with her things. Dre says this won't work because Eddie would be recognized in the entire neighborhood, while Slim Shady counters that he urgently needs money and that the shopkeeper doesn't give a shit. The outcome of this situation remains open after Dre says Eddie shouldn't listen to Eminem.

In the second story, the 21-year-old Stan met a young girl at a party and is now making out with her in a room: Slim Shady says he should put something in her glass and asks Stan to go on a date rape . Dre replies that the girl is only 15 years old and that he shouldn't abuse her, to which Eminem replies that she is mature enough and that Stan should sleep with her without a condom. Now Dr. Dre concerns about HIV and a possible jail sentence for rape , which Slim Shady counters by saying that if Stan disappears in time after sex, the girl will not remember anything. This action also has an open ending.

The last story is about the 29-year-old construction worker Grady, who comes home after a long day at work and catches his wife cheating . While Dre talks reassuringly to him, Slim incites Shady Grady and says that everything is clear and that he should cut his partner's throat. Dr. Dre searches for explanations and Eminem sarcastically replies whether she tripped and fell on her lover's penis. Dre appeals to think about their child before Grady does something wrong. Slim Shady replies that he should kill his wife and then kidnap the child. Eminem also reminds of Dr. Dr's violent past in the rap group NWA , whereupon the latter realizes that he is unbelievable and changes his mind. Dre now tells Grady to get his gun and shoot them both. Then two shots can be heard and the song ends.

Production and sample

The beat of the song was produced by Dr. Dre and Eminem together. They used a sample of the song Go Home Pigs by Ronald Stein.

Music video

In the video made for Guilty Conscience , Philip Atwell and Dr. Dre director. In contrast to the album version of the song, it contains a chorus that plays in the background while the narrator speaks and is about imaginary voices to be followed. The narrator is also different and is played by Robert Culp .

The video recreates the scenes around Eddie, Stan and Grady, to which the song relates. The bullet time technique is used and the respective situation is stopped, with the camera rotating around the event. While the people linger motionless in the picture, Eminem and Dr. Dre open up and rap their verses in the direction of the addressed person whose conscience they represent. Unlike in the song, you can see in the video how the first two conflicts end. Dre retains the upper hand with Eddie, as he refrains from his plan to raid the kiosk and turns back. The second scene wins Slim Shady and convinces Stan to sleep with the underage girl. In the third story, you can hear Grady being shot at the end while you see the windows of the house light up from outside.

single

Cover design

There are two different single covers. One shows various pictures from the music video and contains the words Eminem in black and white at the top of the picture and Guilty Conscience Featuring Dr. Dre . The other is purple and shows Eminem holding a hand in front of his forehead. At the top of the picture are the words Eminem "Guilty Conscience" featuring Dr. Dre and at the bottom of the picture produced by Dr. Dre .

Chart successes and awards

Guilty Conscience reached number 40 in the German charts and stayed in the top 100 for seven weeks. The song celebrated the greatest success with rank 5 in Great Britain.

Chart placements

Charts	Top ranking	Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK)	40 (7 weeks)	7th
United Kingdom (OCC)	5 (8 weeks)	8th

For more than 500,000 copies sold, Guilty Conscience received a 2018 gold record in the United States . In 2019, it was also awarded a gold record in the UK for over 400,000 sales.

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
United States (RIAA)	gold	500,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	gold	400,000
All in all	2 × gold	900,000

Main article: Eminem / Music Sales Awards

At the Grammy Awards 2000 , Guilty Conscience was nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group , but lost to You Got Me by The Roots and Erykah Badu .

Web links

• Lyrics with interpretations (English)
• Music video on YouTube.com

swell

1. ↑ Lyrics in the booklet
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
3. ↑ US: Gold